Kamala Harris is completely phoney. No doubt about it.
However we Indians need to have good relations with the Democrats. There are a few things one has to do due to compulsions.
But that goodwill must be reciprocated back to us too. Remember, Democrats have a viciously anti-Dharmic stance. The biggest bull's-eye is on you Hindus though and you get highlighted because you're the third-largest followed system and the only surviving ancient system in the world. Meanwhile Sikhs, us and Jains get ignored due to the concept of segregating us as "different religious groups" in Abrahamic mindset.
Kamala Harris is a Baptist - the worst of the rice-bag demography. Don't believe me? Visit Nagaland and publicly do a mantra recital. You'll get your response. Joe Biden is a fool with zero initiative - He is just winning because he is "Not Trump" (much like how Pakistan is basically "not India").
The real president behind the scenes will be Kamala Harris in all sense of the word. Domestic policies, foreign policy, defence, etc. everything will go through her. Unlike Obama-Clinton pairing where Obama had a relative soft-corner for India, Biden-Harris pairing will be vicious to Hindus, Hindu nationalism and obviously to India.
There are two ways that we can approach this problem; one is by trying to connect and influence US-Indian demography to vote for Trump; By the way, Trump is quite popular there according to some of my relatives living there.
The other way is for making '
readjustments' (after all, it is the buzzword since our men in green gave
gol gappas to the PLA sissies) in foreign and defence policies.
Readjusting Defence Policy
Banning 101 key defence products from importing in the future was a smart move (albeit a little ceremonious) to start fencing the budding Indian defence industry. This allows for critical platform that would go into development in the next 2-3 years, to have enough time and a safety net from bigger US corporations that are vulnerable to policy shocks. There is a 100% guarantee that the US may adopt a conciliatory tone towards Xi's China, owing the large commercial interests that the Democrats have with China. Biden has been a cornerstone official responsible for entwining the US-China economies.
Simultaneously, India should also consider diversifying its strategic capital into second-level world defence manufacturers. Basically countries other than USA and Russia. We are already doing it but it needs to gain more momentum.
I am talking about
France, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Brazil and Ukraine. Countries that have excellent defence/heavy industrial manufacturing capabilities.
We should also look at close strategic partnerships with companies like Ukraine's Antonov. The An-70 platform is struggling for funds.
If I were heading the CCS or MoD, my move would be to form an HAL-Antonov-private company Joint Venture and order about 50 An-70s and 100+ An-178s, completely customized to IAF requirements. This JV company would also have assurance of manufacturing go and no-go aircraft parts in our country. Ukraine gets critical capital, retains jobs and our MoD gets end-user control over the inventory and customizing. Such a move would also feed into building the large aircraft manufacturing ecosystem in India.
An alternative to Ukraine (in case of heeding to Russia's sensitivities) would be Brazil's Embraer. The Brazilians successfully tested the KC-390 transport aircraft, that could have become a potential candidate for our transport aircraft program. We already buy their EMB-145 platform for our indigenous AWACS; They would be more than happy to supply us with and give greater inventory control in a shared partnership with if we invested capital. If only our strategic thinkers had a broader vision.
Japan of the past might have thrown a hissy fit about our non-NPT nuclear power status, but thanks to Abe and Modi's friendship and Xi's idiocy, Japan is amending its constitution. Equally important are South Koreans. They are friendly, neutral and do not have an imposing presence to overshadow our own influence.
Readjusting Foreign Policy
Keeping a strong possibility of a Democrat America in the long run, we will also need to marry off our defence and foreign policy to one another; especially in the case of a handful of countries that I mentioned above.
India-France relations have been highly successful and more defence cooperation needs to happen between the two countries. Yes, French equipment is expensive, but they are free from political strings. France is not just a defence provider but has excellent aerospace, manufacturing, shipbuilding and other heavy engineering capabilities that can be leveraged by India's budding private sector. This would only boost manufacturing output and promote economic growth. France is also a key permanent member of UNSC; we don't have to appease them, but a slight increase in the momentum of the relationship taht we already have, would be excellent for us. France was one of the 3 countries around the world that stood with us after 1998 nuclear testing, Israel and Russia being the other. It goes to show that while the French may be western, they have their own foreign policy and can walk the talk.
Similarly, we need to exponentially increase our commercial engagement with Israel. Rather than having small-scale startup joint incubators, we need to involve them in critical and sensitive aspects of our capabilities; space exploration, nanotechnology, biotechnology, etc. The more we engage with them, the better options we give them. While USA has Israel's back in global matters, Israel is also looking for an Asian anchor ally to even the western skew. We can be that anchor. We have enough goodwill of USA to not see pressure on Israel against us, and at the same time, we have enough technological prowess to jointly develop sensitive technologies with them independent of US.
We also need to start making multilateral and mini-lateral summits that in the long-term start looking like mini-UNs. Let's face it; we are not going to get an permanent seat.
The common grip that 185 countries have around the world with the UN is the unequal representation. Let's offer them that, through regional cooperation frameworks. For example, the
India-Africa Summit largely discusses:
- Indian investments
- Aid & financial assistance
- Government scholarships and joint training centers, and the likes
What it doesn't discuss is the stuff that we hear in the UN; poverty alleviation, advancement of healthcare, fighting terrorism, etc. Just imagine if India is able to permanently resolve the dispute between Mozambique and Botswana through promoting THE INDIA WAY foreign policy (Dr Jaishankar's latest book is on the way we see the world); this would reinforce the trust of the other 52 African nations.
Similarly, we need to also start building a framework like this in Latin America - from Mexico to Chile, and among CARICOM countries. In time, these mini-laterals will have larger participation as more countries "get things done" using our way.
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While the US will remain a crucial partner for India's future defence for some time, one has to factor in the lobbies and the global liberal-anarchist movement that has polarized the Western society.
Let's be ready for the situation before it catches us with our pants down.